1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a semiconductor device including inductors having improved performance and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A SOC (system on a chip), also known as system LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) or system IC (Integrated Circuit), is a semiconductor device that may be formed by integrating a system usually formed on a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) on a semiconductor. For example, a SOC used for communication may include a microprocessor, DSP, RAM, and/or ROM. When such a SOC is used, the system decreases in size and the assembling process may be simplified in comparison to that of conventional semiconductor devices.
A SOC may be formed by manufacturing a conventional semiconductor element and a RF element as a semiconductor device. A mixed signal circuit used in RF band may be formed on a silicon-based semiconductor substrate and may include basic passive elements (e.g., a resistor, capacitor, inductor, etc).
An inductor that occupies the largest area among the passive elements may require higher performance (e.g., higher performance in a Q factor (quality factor) that may determine inductance and energy storing capacity). The higher the Q factor, the greater the likelihood that the frequency characteristics of a voltage controlled oscillator and band pass filter may be stabilized and a loss may be reduced. The fore-mentioned inductance may depend on the length of a metal wire in the inductor and the Q factor may depend on the resistance of a metal.
In the related art, however, an upper most metal wire may be used as an inductor in a RF CMOS process or a general logic process. Depending on the particular process (RF CMOS process or general logic process), a metal wire may have a limitation of elongation or thickening. As such, it may be difficult to improve the performance of the inductor due to high resistance.